Soli-Konzert und Record-Release-Party

Donnerstag, 15.12.2016

SO36, Oranienstr. 190, 10999 Berlin

 

SO36-Veranstaltung-Link

Carmel Zoum | Mal Eleve | KonTa | Bahati | Musa Okwonga | Matondo | JuJu Rogers | Kutlu Yurtseven | Refpolk | Tamara Jendoubi

SOLIDARITY | BEATZ & POETRY for Oury Jalloh
The Initiative in Remembrance of Oury Jalloh is honored to proudly & gratefully present the RELEASE of a SOLIDARITY-CD delivered by a number of great & generous artists in support of our efforts to strive for complete clarification of the murder of Oury Jalloh, justice and indemnity for the bereaved and rehabilitation from the false accusation of a “self-inflicted fire raising”…

We cordially invite community, family & friends as well as supporters and well-wishers of our course to join in our struggles by being guest on December 15th 2016 at SO36 in Berlin X-Berg by 7pm…

Our nonfinite & unutterable thanks go the artist involved who will stage an unforgettable event for all of us:
Konta (https://youtu.be/lnc6tHABJmU)
Kutlu (https://youtu.be/JxB5zwQ3w6U)
Carmel Zoum (https://youtu.be/EwIMdONezbQ)
Ba Hati (https://youtu.be/ngU0nEd4ZsQ)
Mal Élevé (Irie Révoltés https://youtu.be/mQhsFVSBQCM)
Matondo (https://youtu.be/J-gZOZa2H90)
JuJu Rogers (https://youtu.be/SlopW3IGcDE)
Musa Okwonga (https://youtu.be/y19CbyE41vo)
Refpolk (https://youtu.be/FopN3nFv4B0)
Tamara Jendoubi (https://soundcloud.com/tamara-jendoubi)

   PDF-Plakat A2

pdf-flyer-so36-komplett

Facebook-Event

Video-Mitschnitte der Demonstration am 07.01.2015 in Dessau:

03.05., 14 Uhr, Hermannplatz, Berlin: Asylum Rights Evolution, Demonstration

english below
français ci-dessous

Asylum Rights Evolution :

„Wir fordern, als Menschen respektiert zu werden!“

Am 3.5. um 14 Uhr werden wir gemeinsam vom Hermannplatz, Berlin loslaufen, um unsere Einigkeit gegen ihre Politik zu demonstrieren!

Wir fordern die Entwicklung des Asylrechts!

Seit über zwei Jahren gibt es eine neue Welle selbstorganisierter Kämpfe von Asylsuchenden in ganz Europa.

Heute schließen wir, Asylsuchende aus verschiedenen Lagern in Deutschland, uns den Kampfstrukturen in Hamburg, Berlin und einigen Städten Bayerns an.

Wir haben uns entschlossen, unser Schicksal selbst in die Hand zu nehmen!

Wir haben uns organisiert, wir haben unsere Lager verlassen und die Residenzpflicht überschritten, die in keinem europäischen Land außer in Deutschland existiert.

Wir können in Europa unmöglich in Würde leben. Die aktuelle Asylpolitik hindert uns daran, Wohnungen zu mieten und zu arbeiten, um für unseren Unterhalt aufzukommen. Wir leben in ständiger Angst davor, abgeschoben zu werden. Was ist das also für ein Leben, wo man der Gefahr ausgesetzt ist, jederzeit von der Polizei abgeholt zu werden?

Unsere Forderungen sind:

Stopp aller Abschiebungen

dauerhafte Anerkennung des Aufenthaltes

Aufhebung der Dublin-Verträge

Die Kriege um Ressourcen, die von den Europäern geführt werden, sowie ökonomische Ausbeutung und politische Verfolgung in unseren verschiedenen Ländern, zwingen uns, unsere Familien zu verlassen und nach Europa zu fliehen.

Die westlichen Regierungen unterstützen die Diktatoren, indem sie ihnen Waffen liefern und mit ihren militärischen Interventionen unsere Städte verwüsten, zum Beispiel in der Demokratischen Republik Kongo, in Zentralafrika oder in Mali – das Ziel dieser westlichen Regierungen ist nicht der Schutz der Bevölkerung, sondern der Zugang zu den Ressourcen.

Diese Politik verweist auf die kolonialen Beziehungen, deren Opfer wir sind, aber es gibt niemanden, der unsere Geschichte erzählt. Wir haben genug davon, der Spielball der Außenpolitik und der Asylpolitik zu sein. Wir sind nicht verantwortlich für diese Kriege, und wir wollen ihre Konsequenzen nicht mehr tragen. Wir sind nicht die Ursache des Problems!

Deshalb rufen wir dazu auf, dass alle Asylsuchenden und alle solidarischen Menschen mit uns auf den Straßen Berlins demonstrieren, um gemeinsam das bedingungslose Bleiberecht aller Menschen einzufordern!

Wir fordern, als Menschen respektiert zu werden!

Wir wollen, dass unsere Menschenrechte eingehalten werden!

Wir fordern die Weiterentwicklung des Asylrechts!

Sofort!

Spendenkonto:
Institut: Berliner Sparkasse
BLZ: 100 50 000
Konto-Nr.: 601 333 9153
IBAN: DE13 1005 0000 6013 3391 53
Verwendungszweck: AsylumRightsEvolution

Weitere Infos und Kontakt:

Internet: http://asylumrightsevolution.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Asylum-Rights-Evolution/886719781354144
Email: asylumrightsevolution@gmail.com
Spendenkonto:
Institut: Berliner Sparkasse
BLZ: 100 50 000
Konto-Nr.: 601 333 9153
IBAN: DE13 1005 0000 6013 3391 53
Verwendungszweck: AsylumRightsEvolution

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Asylum Rights Evolution :

“We demand to be respected as human beings!”

Call for demonstration!

On the 3.5. at 2 pm we will collectively leave Hermannplatz, Berlin to demonstrate our unity against their form of politics.

We demand the evolution of the right to asylum!

For more than two years there has been a new wave of self-organised struggles of asylum-seekers all over Europe.

Today we asylum-seekers from the different ‘Lagers’ in Germany join the ‘battle structures’ in Hamburg, Berlin and several cities in Bavaria.

We have decided to take our fate in our own hands!

We have organised ourselves, have left our ‘Lagers’ and transgressed the residential law that exists in no European country except for Germany.

It is impossible for us to live in Europe with dignity. The current asylum-policies prevent us from renting flats or working to support our livelihoods. We live in constant fear of being deported. What kind of life is it when one is in danger of being taken by the police at any time?

Our demands are the following:

Halt all deportations

Permanent recognition of our right to stay

Abolition of the Dublin-convention

The wars for resources that are conducted by Europeans, as well as economic exploitation and political persecution in our different countries force us to leave our families and to flee to Europe.

The Western governments support dictators by delivering weapons and by devastating our cities through their military interventions, for example in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Central Africa or in Mali – the aim of these Western governments is not to protect the population but to gain access to resources.

This form of politics points to a colonial relation whose victims we are, but there is no one who tells our story. We are fed up of being pawns of foreign and asylum policies. We are not responsible for these wars and we do not want to bear their consequences any longer. We are not the sources of the problems.

This is why we call for a demonstration on the streets of Berlin by all asylum-seekers and all people in solidarity with us to collectively demand the unconditional right to stay of all people!

We demand to be respected as human beings!

We want our human rights to be observed!

We demand the evolution of the right to asylum!

Immediately!

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Asylum Rights Evolution :

« Nous exigeons d’être respectés comme des êtres humains ! »

Appel à manifester !

Le 3.5. à 14h, nous partirons ensemble de Hermannplatz, Berlin pour montrer notre unité contre leurs politiques !

Nous exigeons l’évolution du droit d‘asile !

Après plus de deux ans, une nouvelle vague de luttes auto-organisées de demandeurs et demandeuses d’asile a surgi partout en Europe.

Aujourd’hui nous, demandeurs et demandeuses d’asile provenant de divers camps en Allemagne, nous joignons aux structures de combat à Hambourg, Berlin et plusieurs villes en Bavière.

Nous avons décidé de prendre notre destin en main !

Nous nous sommes organisés, nous avons quitté les “Lagers”, avons outrepassé la

“Residenzpflicht” (obligation de résidence), laquelle n’existe dans aucun autre pays

européen sauf en Allemagne.

Il nous est impossible de vivre dignement en Europe. La politique actuelle d’asile nous empêche de loger dans des appartements et de travailler pour subvenir à nos besoins. Nous vivons dans la crainte permanente de l’expulsion. Quelle est donc cette vie où l’on court le danger, à tout instant, d’être emmené par la police?

Nos revendications sont:

⁃ la fin de toutes les expulsions

⁃ l’autorisation durable de séjour

⁃ l’abolition des traités de Dublin

Les guerres pour les ressources, l’exploitation économique et la persécution politique

dans nos différents pays menées par les Européens nous obligent à quitter nos familles et à fuir en Europe.

La soutenance de gouvernements occidentaux aux dictateurs en leur fournissant des

armes et en ravageant nos villes par leurs interventions militaires, par exemple au RD Congo et en Centre-Afrique ou au Mali – l’objectif de ces gouvernements occidentaux n’est pas la protection de la population, mais plutôt l’accès aux ressources.

Ces politiques renvoient aux rapports coloniaux, nous en sommes les victimes, mais il n’y a personne pour raconter notre histoire. Nous en avons assez d’être le jouet des politiques extérieures et d’asile européennes. Nous ne sommes pas responsables de ces guerres et nous ne voulons plus en subir les conséquences. Ce n’est pas nous qui sommes la cause du problème !

C’est pourquoi nous demandons à tou.te.s les demandeuses et demandeurs d’asile et toutes personnes solidaires de manifester avec nous dans les rues de Berlin pour

exiger ensemble le droit inconditionnel de toutes personnes à rester !

Nous exigeons d’être respectés comme des êtres humains !

Nous voulons bénéficier des droits humains !

Nous exigeons l’évolution du droit d‘asile !

Maintenant !

Pressekonferenz am 12.11.2013

LIVESTREAM der Pressekonferenz am 12.11., ab 11 Uhr.

+ + + + +

Einladung zur Pressekonferenz

Invitation in different languages:
‏زبان فارسی, deutsch, english, español, العربية, français, magyar, nederlands, português, русский, srpski

Neues Gutachten zeigt, dass die Behauptung, Oury Jalloh habe sich selbst angezündet, nicht weiter haltbar ist.

Dienstag, 12. November 2013, 11:00 Uhr,
Haus der Demokratie und Menschenrechte,
Robert-Havemann-Saal, Hof I, EG,
Greifswalder Str. 4, 10405 Berlin (Tram M4, Bus 200)

Die Initiative in Gedenken an Oury Jalloh lädt Sie im Namen der Angehörigen von Oury Jalloh zur oben genannten Pressekonferenz ein.

Am 07.01.2005 gegen 12 Uhr mittags verbrannte Oury Jalloh in einer Zelle des Dessauer Polizeigewahrsams bei lebendigem Leib, an Händen und Füßen auf einer nicht brennbaren Sicherheitsmatratze fixiert. Bei seiner Durchsuchung am Morgen war kein Feuerzeug gefunden worden.

Sein Tod blieb bis heute rätselhaft, u.a. deshalb, weil von den Gerichten bisher kein qualifiziertes, das heißt dem Geschehen adäquates Brandgutachten bestellt wurde.
Die Initiative in Gedenken an Oury Jalloh hat deshalb aus den Mitteln einer mehrmonatigen Spendensammlung ein neues qualifiziertes Brandgutachten bei einem ausländischen Brandgutachter in Auftrag gegeben. Auf der Pressekonferenz werden wir die Ergebnisse vorstellen. Das in Großbritannien erstellte Gutachten zeigt, dass die Behauptung, Oury Jalloh habe sich selbst angezündet, nicht länger haltbar ist.

Der Gutachter sowie ein Rechtsanwalt, der die Versuche und deren Dokumentation begleitet hat, werden bei der Pressekonferenz anwesend sein. Es werden Videosequenzen aus der Dokumentation der Brandversuche vorgestellt. Die dem Gutachten zugrunde liegenden Versuchsprotokolle mit den entsprechenden Werten können eingesehen werden. Außerdem wird ein Auszug derselben und eine Zusammenfassung der Ergebnisse zur Hand gereicht.

Aus organisatorischen Gründen bitten wir Sie herzlich um Mitteilung, ob und mit wie vielen Personen Sie an der Pressekonferenz teilnehmen werden.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Initiative in Gedenken an Oury Jalloh e.V.

Kontakte:
Mouctar Bah : 0152 10 83 69 14
Komi E. 0176 38 11 31 35

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Trailer zur Ankündigung:

Einladung als PDF: Pressekonferenz_Einladung

REMEMBERANCE FOR OURY JALLOH

Regina Kiwanuka Report On Dessau Demonstration 23.06.2007

2nd report

NATIONWIDE VOICE FOR DEFENCE ON THE ATTACK TO HUMANITY 27 June 2007

********

Foto and Video

REMEMBERANCE FOR OURY JALLOH

Regina Kiwanuka Report On Dessau Demonstration – Part 1
23.06.2007

The Demonstration that moved Dessau Protesting the injustice that has consistently befallen the African people over the centuries

The tears of more than 150 people over the terrifying death of Oury Jalloh poured in the city of Dessau on Saturday 23 June 2007 when heavy rains and thunder joined in the struggle to demand justice for the black man.>>>>>

At exactly 14hrs people from different cities in Germany and of different nationalities gathered at the front of the main train station in Dessau to once again protest against the appalling events surrounding Oury Jalloh’s untimely shocking death.

Press Release: Nationwide Demonstration in Memory of Oury Jalloh

The Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh is calling for a nationwide
demonstration in memory of Oury Jalloh. Said demonstration will be take
place on June 23, 2007, in Dessau. Meeting point is 1pm at the central
train station. The demonstration will begin one hour later and pass
through the center of the city as well as the monument in memory of
Alberto Adriano and the police station in the Wolfgangstrasse. Several
hundred protestors are expected.

Additionally, the Initative in Memory of Oury Jalloh will be holding a
press conference at 1.30 pm outside the central train station. The
demonstration is being organised in response to the alarming
developments of the court proceedings surrounding the death of the 21
year-old refugee from Sierra Leone/Guinea as well as diverse attacks
against the Initiative itself.

In light of these developments, the Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh
declares the following:

Those familiar with the brutality of the South African Apartheid regime
can only imagine this situation all too well: a human being is chained
at his hands and feet to fireproof mattress. Hours later, the man is
dead, his body fully charcoaled, the upper parts of his fingers
completely burned off. The official hypothesis: suicide.

On January 7, 2005, Oury Jalloh—a human being converted in life and
death into an eternal refugee—died under exactly these circumstances in
a police holding cell in Dessau, Germany. This happened on the very same
day that the police in Germany took away the life of another African:
Layé Konde, whom ten days before went into a coma after the police had
forced vomit-inducing chemicals down his throat, also perished on
January 7, 2005. Until today, not one single police officer has been
charged for these crimes.

From our point of view, the sequence of events only permits one
possible hypothesis: Oury Jalloh was murdered. Since organising
ourselves in the Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh we have
consistently insisted on the fact that the death of Oury Jalloh will
remain a murder so long as the responsible authorities do not thoroughly
clear up the events surrounding Oury’s death. From the very beginning,
the state prosecutor in Dessau only allowed one line of investigation,
i.e. suicide. Yet in spite of all facts widely made available to the
public, for instance that he was chained to a fireproof mattress, that a
lighter only appears in a second inventory of the items found in the
cell, that the broken nose was only discovered in the second,
independently financed autopsy, etc., etc., the police, the court and
even the media only allow one line of thought: Oury Jalloh killed himself.

The current court proceedings in the case of Oury Jalloh only serve to
confirm our concerns regarding the cover-up of the case which lasted
over two years. From the very first day, the trial has been
characterised by a penetrating non-remembrance and selective knowledge
of details on the part of the accused and witnesses alike—all of whom
are from the police. Moreover, although there is more than enough
evidence available to include a critical observation regarding the
racism surrounding Oury’s death and the entire process in and of itself,
until now the issue of racism has been completely excluded from all
investigations and subsequent proceedings. Instead, all efforts are
being made to “prove” that Oury Jalloh set himself on fire.

Rather than pursue the truth, the authorities are instead bent on
persecuting activists of the Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh,
against whom a series of investigations and preliminary proceedings are
being launched, among other excuses because of libel. This is because we
openly voice our opinion: it was murder. Activists are even persecuted
and threatened by the police within the courtroom itself. Further, at
one of the vigils organized outside of the court, an attack was once
again made against our freedom of speech in which a banner was
forcefully removed by the police. The reason? It contained an
illustration of a lighter and underneath it the words: OURY JALLOH WAS
MURDERED!

In addition, Mouctar Bah, the former owner of a Telecafé in Dessau and
international representative of the Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh,
is once again receiving serious and diverse threats. Already on February
7, 2006, the city authorities closed down his store and expropriated his
commercial license. The justification? Mouctar allegedly had not done
enough to keep the so-called drug dealers off the street where his
Telecafé was located. Subsequently, he was forced to sell his shop to a
German, for whom he now works as an employee. Currently, the new owner
is being threatened with the closure of the Telecafé. The official
justification? Mouctar Bah is still working there.

As if the persecution Mouctar Bah has suffered from the authorities is
not enough, some take up where others leave off. In the night of May 14,
2007, unknown persons painted swastikas and nazi symbols on the monument
in memory of the deported Jews and the destruction of the synagogue as
well as Mouctar’s former Telecafé, among other sites. Mouctar has also
been physically attacked on more than one occassion. These attacks
against Mouctar and the Initiative must be seen within the context of
the recent racist attacks in Halberstadt, Cottbus and Bemberg and the
reaction of the local police to them.

In spite of all these very alarming developments, certain, organized
nazis are still allowed to attend the trial against the police in Dessau
as so-called “normal” observers and to write viciously racist reports.
In addition to all that mentioned above comes another shocking detail
concerning the Vice-Director of the police in Dessau, Hans-Christoph
Glombitza: three secret agents normally employed in investigating crimes
of right-wing extremism have sworn under oath that Mr. Glombitza, in his
function as acting director of the police, has actually tried to impede
the persecution of fascist crimes. They quote him as saying that, “one
doesn’t have to see everything,” and that, “there are ways to write
reports more slowly.” Regarding programmes of the federal government to
combat right-wing extremism, Glombitza is reported to have said
that,”they are only for show anyway.” Nevertheless, according to
Wolfgang Böhmer, Interior Minister of Sachsen-Anhalt, “The accusation
has been disproved. We now know that there were rather personal
conflicts behind all of this.”

And thus the vicious circle continues its barbaric cycle: cover-up,
fraud, deception, deceit, delay and then forgetting. In this sense, we
are by no means surprised by the fact that the demand of the family of
Oury Jalloh’s legal counsel to begin preliminary proceedings against Dr.
Blödau have been openly rejected by the state prosecutor. Dr, Blödau,
who became famous thanks to his extremely racist and vile comments about
Blacks, was the person who took blood from Oury and ordered him to be
chained at his hands and feet. He was also involved in declaring Mario
Bichtermann, the homeless man who died or was possibly murdered in the
same cell in November, 2002, fit for detention. The investigations
against those responsible for the death of Mario Bichtermann? Closed.
The case? Unresolved.

Several weeks ago, Rosa Amelia Plumelle-Uribe, one of the international
delegates invited by the Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh to assist
the trial, made the following comment: “The court faces the decision of
having to condemn and distance itself from the racist conduct of the
police or to excuse it and support it.” In our opinion, the same is true
for the media as well as the political parties and the society as a whole.

At the demonstration, the Initiative will also be honouring Layé Konde
(Sierra Leone), who—as mentioned above—was murdered on the same day as
Oury. Additionally, we will also be remembering Dominique Koumadio
(Congo), who was shot to death by the police on April 14, 2006 in the
city of Dortmund, John Achidi (Nigeria/Camerun), who also lost his life
after the police in Hamburg forced vomit-inducing chemicals down his
throat in 2001 as well as Osamuyia Aikpitanhi (Nigeria). Osamuyia died
on June 9, 2007 died during a deportation attempt in Spain while tied at
his hands and feet and a rag stuffed down his throat and covered over
with tape. According to the police, Osamuyia Aikpitanhi committed suicide.

We call on all people of solidarity to join us in Dessau and to
participate in our demonstration in memory of Oury Jalloh. Furthermore,
in light of the increasing attacks and attempts at criminalisation, we
call on the media to be aware and to cover the demonstration and
especially the further developments of the case.

For enquiries or interviews, please contact:

Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh
Spokesperson: Yufanyi Mbolo
Tel: +49-1708788124
E-mail: the_voice_goettingen@gmx.de

download press release (pdf)

THE PERSECUTION OF A WORD AND A CALL FOR ACTION

download call English (pdf)

23RD JUNE; 2007; 2PM CENTRAL TRAIN STATION
NATIONWIDE DEMONSTRATION IN DESSAU

I hadn’t realized that they even took away our right to call the most gigantic deportation in the history of humanity by its name. And that only because the slave traders, their descendants and their historians neither at that time nor at the present day used the word deportation or authorised its use to describe their practices.

Rosa Amelia Plumelle-Uribe

The Persecution of a Word

Those familiar with the brutality and horror of the apartheid regime can picture all too well the scenario: a Black man is tied at his hands and feet to a fireproof mattress in a holding cell at a police station. Hours later the man is dead, his body burnt like charcoal, the upper regions of his fingers burnt completely away. The official thesis: suicide.

On the 7th of January, 2005, Oury Jalloh, a human being converted into an eternal refugee, died under exactly these conditions in the city of Dessau, Germany. On that very same day the life of another African was extinguished: Layé Konde, who ten days before had chemicals forced down his throat by the police who were looking for possible drugs, had his life taken from him after not coming out of the coma induced by the police action. The number of police sentenced for the two deaths until today: 0.

Since that time, diverse refugee, migrant and anti-racist organizations have joined together to fight for truth, justice and restitutions. Under the slogan OURY JALLOH DAS WAR MORD, we organized ourselves in the Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh.

Our words, however, provoke fear and subsequent persecution on the part of the authorities. According to their logic, without knowing the exact incidents surrounding the events of the 7th of January, it is not a crime to describe the death of Oury Jalloh as self-murder (i.e. suicide), but it is a crime to describe it as a murder.

The power of language, the power of definition is decisive and a fundamental pillar of totalitarian—and colonial—power. It is used to silence opposition and to maintain hegemony over words and thoughts.

We must, however, never forget what past experiences have taught us; how often and ruthlessly genocide was committed so that all traces of the truth would be eliminated together with its victims, such as happened in Europe during the time of Nazi terror and with the separation of mothers from their children during the time of slavery, for example.

But, as the executioners, their descendants and their historians have been forced to repeatedly recognize: no matter how many are killed, no matter how far those in power are willing to go in order to fulfill their objectives, you can never eliminate a collective memory—and no oppression can last forever.

Selective Memory and the Non-Persecution of the Truth

That Justice is a blind goddess
is a thing to which we Blacks are wise:
Her bandage hides two festering sores
that once perhaps were eyes

Aimé Césaire

On the 27th of March, 2007, court proceedings finally began against two of the police officers implicated in the death of Oury Jalloh. Andreas Schubert and Hans-Ulrich März have been accused of negligence in the death of Oury Jalloh. Within the formal accusation presented by the state prosecutor—the only entity allowed to formulate such an accusation in Germany—neither racism nor any other possible cause of death play a role other than the official version: suicide. Likewise, the broken nose and broken middle-ear discovered in the second, independently financed autopsy, are not considered within the trial-based evidence permitted by the court (in other words, these facts are not even considered when the judge is to make his decision).

Until now, the trial has been nothing more than a confirmation of our deepest mistrust. For over two years we have consistently denounced the cover-up and the intentional attempt to win time. As expected, every single police officer or related state employee who has been called as a witness has shown remarkable coincidences between each other: all of them have a perfect memory—except that which involves the death of Oury Jalloh. There is, however, one exception: all seem to remember clearly that Andreas Schubert, accused of negligence for not having reacted in time, was swift in his response of running down into the basement, where Oury Jalloh had been chained down—and burnt to death—to a fireproof mattress.

The issue of racism, however, has remained just as absent from the trial as has any word of truth spoken on the part of the police. On only two occasions was racism made an issue: Once, as an African man was forced out of the courtroom for shouting „What have we ever done to you to deserve this,“ as the racist protocol between Andreas Schubert and the doctor who ordered Oury Jalloh to be chained, Dr. Blödau, was read aloud, and, secondly, as an African man was ordered by the judge to sit as the accused and apologize for his behavior or be accused of allegedly having offended a Nazi-party member.

Additionally, at the middle of May a scandal appeared (and disappeared just as quickly) in the national media: Hans-Christoph Glombitza, acting vice-director of the police in Dessau, was recorded in a conversation with members of the German state security office in which he said, referring to crimes committed by right-wing extremists, that, “one doesn’t have to see everything.”

Adding that the federal government programs to combat Nazi crimes and thought were, “really just for the art galleries anyway,” he pointed out that there are ways “to write reports slowly.” Citing a lack of evidence of a crime having been committed, the leading state prosecutor in Dessau, Volker Bittermann, has already refused to open investigations.

For their part, the police have seen the trial as an opportunity to intimidate and persecute members of the Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh. At least one hundred police—including dogs—have been set to surround and occupy the court inside and out.

Activists have not only been subject to massive security controls and the photocopying of their identity papers, but also direct persecution, as described above. Additionally, civil-clothed police have tried to control and intimidate members of the Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh.

Why we must fight—not just protest or question

My tongue shall serve those miseries which
have no tongue, my voice the liberty of those
who found themselves in the dungeons of despair.

Aimé Césaire

We have neither deceased in our struggle for truth and justice nor in the conviction that only we will decide which words we will use. The fight for truth and justice in the case of Oury Jalloh—like that of Dominique Koumadio, shot to death by the police in Dortmund on April 14, 2006—is a question of survival. The arrogance and lack of human understanding—especially toward non-whites—within the police is exactly that which permits Oury Jalloh to die in such a vile manner. Moreover, the fact that it is so systematic and historic is one of the many reasons why we have and will continue to speak of murder.

This goes far beyond a question of simple protest or questioning official versions of Oury’s, Laye’s or Dominique’s deaths. On the contrary, it is as much a question of self-determination as it is the rage against so much perpetual brutality.

We cannot and will not let ourselves to continue functioning within this murderous normality, accomplices of our own death and persecution. By refusing to speak out and by silencing our own beliefs, we are only contributing further to the duration of our common suffering.

We refuse. We refuse to obey. We refuse to continue being a part of our own oppression. We refuse to remain silent, much less be silenced. That time is over.

MOBILIZE AND COME TO DESSAU ON THE 23RD OF JUNE

ORGANIZE GROUPS IN YOUR CITIES TO ACCOMPANY THE COURT PROCEEDINGS ON SPECIFIC DAYS!

RISE UP AND BREAK THE SILENCE!

For more information contact:
Tel: +(49)170-8788124 or the_voice_goettingen@gmx.de

Come to Dessau!

Break the silence!

Come to Dessau on March 27th – 30th and April 19th-20th of 2007

Observe the trial and participate in the permanent vigils, events and
rallies during this time

On the 7th of January, 2005, Oury Jalloh agonizingly burned to death—tied
at his hands and feet in Cell Number 5 in Dessau. He was a 21 year-old
refugee from Sierra Leone. The smoke and fire alarm were simply ignored by
the supervising police officer; the communication system connected directly
to the cell was turned off, supposedly because the police officers felt
bothered by the “burbling noises” while they were talking on the telephone.
Since his death to this day, the State Prosecutor, responsible for carrying
out the investigations, has exclusively promoted the theory that Oury Jalloh
committed suicide.

Nevertheless, there are simply too many contradictions in their theory:
Why does a lighter first appear in a second inventory taken of the items
found in the cell? How did a lighter enter into the cell when two police
officers carried out a body search of Oury Jalloh? How do they explain the
broken nasal bone and the injuries to the middle ear as found in the second
autopsy organized by the Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh? What role did
the racist attitude of Dessau’s police play, which was recorded on tape
before and during the fire and made partially public?

On the basis of the ascertainable facts regarding the death of Oury Jalloh
and until it is proved otherwise we will continue to believe and make our
opinion known: Oury Jalloh was murdered.

That all of these contradictions have even been made known to a wider public
has only been possible thanks to the mobilization and engagement of friends
and acquaintances of Oury Jalloh as well as diverse migrant, refugee and
anti-racist organizations, who in spite of the attempts at criminalization
and the persecution of several activists have never given up in fighting for
an exhaustive clarification of the circumstances surrounding the death of
Oury Jalloh as well as justice and reparations.
All of these groups have come together to form the Initiative in Memory of
Oury Jalloh.

Finally, after two years of mobilization and public campaigning of the
Initiative, court proceedings are to be held in March against two of the
police involved in the crime. Although we find this to be an important step
in the direction of shedding light on the death of Oury Jalloh, we have
serious doubt as to whether the proceedings will bring either justice or an
exhaustive clarification of the circumstances.

Since Oury’s murder, neither the court nor the State Prosecutor has shown
interest in discovering the truth behind the events in Dessau. Rather, the
case has been plagued by two years of impediments, cover-up and the denial
to cooperate with the lawyers of Oury’s parents. Only for the recognition of
the mother and father as co-plaintiffs in the case did the court need
17 and 15 months to come to a decision, respectively. In addition, the State
Prosecutor refused to allow an x-ray of Oury Jalloh’s corpse to be carried
out with the justification that it simply wasn’t necessary. The second
autopsy, carried out independently in the name of the Initiative in Memory
of Oury Jalloh, demonstrated then demonstrated the serious injuries to
Oury’s nose and middle ear.

But Oury Jalloh was not alone. Dominique Koumadio, for example, was shot and
killed by the police on the 14th of April, 2006. The General Public
Prosecutor has already absolved the police of any crime. The justification?
Self-defense. Indeed, crimes by the police enjoy almost complete impunity,
especially when those crimes are committed against refugees and migrants.
Indeed, German police abuse refugees and migrants on a daily basis, and
physical mistreatment is widespread, though punishment is seldom—if it even
comes that far. In general, it is fair to say that the police, just as
society, is dominated by a racist, inhumane consensus that sees refugees and
migrants in general as sub-humans.

In general, Europe has made it known and enforced the fact that refugees and
migrants, but especially Blacks, are not welcome here. Alone in 2006 more
than 7,000 HUMAN BEINGS were forced into their death by a system which has
systematically and eternally robbed them of their most basic
right: the right to life. Who will pay the price for these murders? Who can
give their families and friends back their loved ones?

These are just some of the reasons why we totally distrust the German legal
system.

It is our responsibility to Oury, his family and all victims and survivors
of racist police violence and even murder to come together and demonstrate
to the court, to the society and to the world that we will not stand
silently by while they continue their crimes in impunity. If we do not come
together to stop this now, how many will follow? Who will be next?

A wide public and political mobilization to accompany the trial and assist
the proceedings as independent observers is of extreme importance. We
therefore call on all progressive sectors and people of solidarity to join
us in Dessau for the entire length of the court proceedings. Vigils, events
and rallies will be organized during the whole duration of the events.

Come to Dessau on March 27th-30th and April 19th-20th. Observe the trial and
participate in the permanent vigils, events and rallies during this time.

The Court address:
Landgericht Dessau, Willy-Lohmann-Str. 29, 06844 Dessau

Stay informed at: http://oury-jalloh.so36.net

Info-phone at: 0176-65977644
Donations can be made to: Antirassistische Initiative / Bank für
Sozialwirtschaft / Konto-Nr.: 3039600 / BLZ: 100 205 00 / Stichwort:
Dessau.

COME TO DESSAU!
BREAK THE SILENCE!

Death in the Cell

Film und Information meetings in Berlin

2 years ago Oury Jalooh burned alive in a police cell in Dessau. Up to now, a
trial havn’t taken place. Therefore the Initiative in remembrance of Oury
Jalloh invites you to a information meeting to mobilize for big
demonstrations on the 7.1.2007 in Dessau and Berlin.
We will show the film “Death in the cell”, which follows the circumstances
of Oury Jalloh’s death. Furthermore, we inform about the current state of
the case, upcoming actions and are open to all questions.

• Neukölln: 10.12.06, 20:00h, Syndikat, Weisestr. 56
• Mitte: 14.12.06, 19:00h, Cafe Krähenfuss, HU, Unter den Linden 6
• Wedding: 15.12.06, 20:00h, Villa 32, Utrechter Str. 32
• Kreuzberg: 17.12.06, 19:30h, Tante Horst, Oranienstr. 45
• Friedrichshain: 18.12.06, 20:00h, Schnarup Thumby, Scharnweberstr. 38
• Friedrichshain: 3.1.2007, 20:00h, Zielona Gora, Grünberger Str. 73